George W. Bush campaigned for the presidency as a "compassionate conservative," claiming he would unite more than divide in his political dealings. But the world inside the Washington beltway is one of deal-making and opinion-wrangling. So how much does the art and science of government -- politics -- play a part in President Bush's decisions on domestic issues? Is he living up to the pre-election perception that he would be a different kind of Republican, uniting partisan elements to further a reform agenda? Recent Gallup polling suggests the public is fairly split on how much it thinks politics influences the president's decisions, and whether he is too conservative.
A May CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll* finds that 40% of the American public thinks politics play too big a role in President Bush's domestic decisions, while 50% do not. Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to say politics influence Bush's decisions, by a 52% to 25% margin.
More specifically, the poll also asked Americans to compare Bush in this regard to other U.S. presidents since World War II. A plurality, 42%, says that politics do play a bigger role in Bush's decisions on domestic issues such as trade, the environment and agriculture than they have for past presidents. Slightly more than a third of the public (37%) says politics play about the same role for Bush as they did for his predecessors, and 12% believe they play a smaller role for Bush.
Not surprisingly, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say politics play a bigger role in Bush's presidency than those of his predecessors -- 48% to 39%. However, men are also more likely than women to say that politics play a bigger role -- 49% versus 37%, respectively.
It stands to reason that if President Bush weighs politics in his policy decisions, then he would err on the side of conservativism, given his status as a Republican. Does the American public believe Bush's policies should be more conservative or less conservative? The public lacks consensus. Results from a Gallup poll from late April and early May** show a little more than a quarter of respondents (27%) think Bush's policies should be more conservative, while a similar 29% say they should be less conservative. Thirty-eight percent of Americans feel that Bush should not change the political bent of his policies.
While a typical variance of opinion exists by party identification (42% of Democrats say "less conservative," compared to 14% of Republicans), a sharp difference of opinion also appears between education and income groups. Half of those with a post-graduate education believe Bush's policies should be less conservative, compared to just 19% of those with a high school education or less. Similarly, 45% of those making $75,000 or more annually think Bush's policies should be less conservative, compared to 19% of those who make less than $20,000.
*Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,003 national adults, aged 18 and older, May 28-29, 2002. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ± 3%. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
**Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,002 national adults, aged 18 and older, April 29-May 1, 2002. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3%. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
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